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Population Composition: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

Population Composition: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

At the 1991 Census 265,459 Australians identified themselves as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin.Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is recognised as a socially and economically disadvantaged group within Australian society and is the focus of much social research, government policy and political debate. Provision of reliable national data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is an important priority for government and has led to improvements in census coverage and collection methodology, and to the development of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey.

At the 1991 Census, 265,459 persons, representing 1.6% of the population, identified themselves as being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin. Of these 26,884 stated Torres Strait Islander origin and 238,575 stated Aboriginal origin.

ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER POPULATIONS, 1991

NSW

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

NT

ACT

Aust.

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

Aboriginal people

65,133

13,739

55,474

14,640

41,003

7,621

39,285

1,680

238,575

Torres Strait Islanders

4,886

2,996

1,650

1,592

776

1,264

625

95

26,884

Total indigenous population

70,019

16,735

70,124

16,232

41,779

8,885

39,910

1,775

265,459

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

Proportion of total indigenous population

26.4

6.3

26.4

6.1

15.7

3.3

15.0

0.7

100.0

Proportion of total State population

1.2

0.4

2.4

1.2

2.6

2.0

22.7

0.6

1.6

Source: Census of Population and Housing.

Census countsCounts and estimates of the indigenous population have been made in every national census since Federation (1901). However, in keeping with Section 127 of the Constitution, which was repealed in 1967, counts of full-blood Aboriginal people were not included in the official count of the Australian population until the 1971 Census.
Until 1966, indigenous people who lived in remote areas were not counted but estimates of their numbers were provided by welfare authorities. Since 1971 improvements in census procedures have been progressively implemented to improve the accuracy of the counts of the indigenous population and to enable collection of data from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people which are as comprehensive and as reliable as the data collected from the rest of the Australian population.

Geographic distributionAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprised only a small proportion of the population in all States except the Northern Territory where more than one in five were Aboriginal. However, the numbers of Aboriginal people were larger in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia than in the Northern Territory, while over half of all Torres Strait Islanders were counted in Queensland.

27% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lived in towns and cities of more than 100,000 people (major urban areas), compared to 63% of all Australians. About 32% lived in rural areas, compared to less than 15% of all Australians.

With the exception of the Northern Territory, the majority of indigenous Australians lived in urban centres with populations greater than 1,000 people; 41% lived in urban centres with population between 1,000 and 100,000 people compared to 22% of all Australians. In the Northern Territory 65% lived in rural areas; 26% in localities with a total population of between 200 and 999, and 39% in communities of less than 200 people.

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE INDIGENOUS POPULATION, 1991

NSW

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

NT

ACT

Aust.

Geographic area

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

Major urban

37.7

44.6

23.7

41.2

24.5

20.7

. .

88.4

26.7

Other urban

44.3

41.0

43.4

28.7

42.0

48.1

34.6

. .

40.9

Rural locality

5.6

2.5

17.1

14.9

15.0

9.5

26.3

. .

13.7

Other rural

12.4

11.9

15.7

15.2

18.6

21.6

39.1

11.6

18.7

Total

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

100.0

Source: Census of Population and Housing.
MobilityAt the national level, similar proportions of indigenous and non-Indigenous people (45% and 43% respectively) had changed their address between 1986 and 1991. There were significant differences across Australia, however. Mobility levels among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were around 50% in the States, 63% in the Australian Capital Territory and 22% in the Northern Territory. The mobility of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was slightly greater than that of the rest of the population, except in Queensland and Western Australia (where mobility rates were about the same), and in the Northern Territory (where the mobility rate was less than half).

Interstate movement was relatively low among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. 1% of those who had changed address between 1986 and 1991 had moved interstate compared to 15% of all Australians who had moved. 95% of all indigenous people who moved stayed within the same statistical local area (SLA).

PROPORTION OF PEOPLE WHO CHANGED ADDRESS BETWEEN 1986 AND 1991

Source: Census of Population and Housing.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE WHO CHANGED ADDRESS BETWEEN 1986 AND 1991

NSW

Vic.

Qld

SA

WA

Tas.

NT

ACT

Aust.

Type of movement

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

Moved interstate

0.8

1.6

0.8

1.4

0.7

0.8

2.1

4.9

1.0

Changed SLA(a) within State

3.4

3.0

3.7

4.4

4.8

2.4

4.1

1.0

3.8

Changed address within SLA(a)

95.6

95.1

95.2

93.9

94.0

96.7

93.4

93.8

94.9

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

no.

Total

28,111

7,048

27,453

6,270

16,475

3,599

7,624

906

97,486

(a) Statistical Local Area

Source: Census of Population and Housing.

Age and sex compositionThe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population has a much younger age profile than the non-Indigenous population, a reflection of higher fertility rates and lower life expectancy. At the 1991 Census, 40% of the total indigenous population were children aged less than 15 years and 15% were aged less than 5 years. This was almost double the proportion that these age groups represented in the non-Indigenous population. There were proportionally fewer older people; 6% of the indigenous population was aged 55 years or more compared to 20% of the non-Indigenous population. The age distributions of the indigenous population were generally similar in all States and have changed relatively little over the last three censuses.

Overall, there were 98 men for each 100 women in the indigenous population, a sex ratio slightly lower than that of the non-Indigenous population.

AGE AND SEX PROFILE, 1991

Indigenous population

Non-Indigenous population

Age group (years)

Age group (years)

Population growthBetween 1976 and 1991, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people counted in the census increased by 104,500 or 65%. However, this does not mean that the indigenous population grew by 65% in this period. In addition to natural increase there are several factors which have contributed to the increased census count. These include improved coverage and the implementation of special field procedures for indigenous people living in remote areas; involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations in the collection process and in census awareness campaigns directed specifically at indigenous people; and, possibly, an increased tendency for people of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin to identify themselves as such. Currently it is not possible to measure how much of the apparent growth is due to natural increase since data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births and deaths are incomplete.

GROWTH OF THE INDIGENOUS POPULATION

1976

1986

1991

Increase 1976-91

Increase 1986-91

no.

no.

no.

%

%

New South Wales

40,450

59,011

70,019

73.1

18.7

Victoria

14,760

12,611

16,735

13.4

32.7

Queensland

41,343

61,268

70,124

69.6

14.5

South Australia

10,714

14,291

16,232

51.5

13.6

Western Australia

26,126

37,789

41,779

59.9

10.6

Tasmania

2,942

6,716

8,885

202.0

32.0

Northern Territory

23,750

34,739

39,910

68.0

14.9

Australian Capital Territory

828

1,220

1,775

114.4

45.5

Total indigenous population

160,913

227,645

265,459

65.0

16.6

Total Aboriginal population

144,381

206,104

238,575

65.2

15.8

Total Torres Strait Islander population

16,531

21,541

26,884

62.6

24.8

Source: Census of Population and Housing.

Developments in the collection of data on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleThe Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1987-91) highlighted the need for more detailed, accurate, and nationally comparable data about Australia's indigenous population. A direct response to the Commission's report was the development of the national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey to be conducted in 1994 with full participation of indigenous people at all levels. The survey has been designed to gather data on a wide range of social, demographic, health and economic characteristics of the indigenous population.
In addition to the national survey, the ABS is continuing its efforts to improve the quality of census data and, in conjunction with the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, to ensure that all State and Territory Registrars make provision for identification of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander origin on birth and death registration forms.

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